Forget Sugar, She's All Spice
by Ambercat999
Summary: Clara Zappa is a Sicilian immigrant who has just arrived in America with her older sister Anna. However jobs are scarce and soon she finds herself let on the steps of Manhattan's newsie lodging house, she is taken in and shevsoon becomes quick friends with Racetrack. How will Clara change the lives of the Manhattan newsie and what role will she play in the strike? Read to fine out.
1. Chapter 1

Forget Sugar, She's All Sugar

Clara smiled as she stepped off of the boat and onto American soil for the first time. She looked up at her older sister and grabbed her hand, she may have only been five but she understood what America stood for and she knew that she and her sister were going to have a better life now that they were the United States. Her sister Anna smiled back and squeezed her hand before stepping off in the direction of downtown; she knew that life would be hard, she wasn't as naïve as Clara, but she had to believe that they would make it. She quickly located where most of the Italian immigrants gathered during the days and started asking around about jobs.

Unfortunately she was quickly disheartened, it would seem as though the big city didn't have enough jobs to go around and immigrants were the last to be hired and the first to be fired. Most people gave Anna similar advice, ditch her sister and move on; it was easier to move around when you were alone and it would be easier to attract suitors if she didn't have a sister holding her back. She was horrified that people could suggest abandoning family members so easily but at the same time she worried that she wouldn't be able to provide for Clara. Finally she came across someone with the perfect solution for her problem, she would leave her sister with the newsies.

Apparently most of the young immigrants who either didn't have family or needed extra money would become a newsie, it was a good enough job and they all looked out for each other. The kind man who suggested that Clara become a newsie gave Anna directions to the lodging house; he said that the best way to help Clara was to leave her on the steps of the lodging house and to simply walk away without any explanation at all. When he saw Anna's horror struck expression he was quick to explain that the newsies would be more likely to accept her if it looked like her one and only family member had abandoned her. At first Anna had been furious and stormed away, dragging her sister away from a group of young girls that she had been playing ball with nearby without thinking. It wasn't until Clara's indignant cries finally reached her ears that Anna realized what she was doing, she looked at her sister and decided that there was no way she could abandon the cute little girl. Clara had dark red hair and big green eyes that sparkled with innocence that only came from an untainted youth, the freckles spattered across her nose only served to enhance her cuteness and Anna had no doubt that if the little girl wasn't watched someone would try to take advantage of her innocence.

However as the day dragged on and no other options could be found Anna realized that she didn't have any other options, and so as fate would have it the setting sun found the two of the sisters standing outside of the Manhattan newsie lodging house.

"Anna, what are we doing here, are we staying here for the night?"

The innocent tone in Clara's voice was almost enough to break Anna's stony resolve, however she held strong determined to give her sister the best life possible.

"Yeah Clara, now I need you to stay here. A kind man mentioned a job opening up around here, I'm gonna check it out, I promise I'll be back soon."

Clara nodded, not realizing that her sister was lying to her and so Anna walked away knowing that she would probably never see her sister again, she was only able to hold her tears in until she turned the corner before she broke down into uncontrollable sobbing. Clara on the other hand happily sat down on the stairs and started to day dream about what her new life would be like. She was so caught up in her fantasies that she didn't realize that the hours were passing by until suddenly she found someone shaking her shoulder rather roughly. She looked up expecting to see her older sister and was startled when instead of Anna she found a boy with a cowboy hat standing before her on the steps.

"Hey girl what are you doing here, are you waiting for someone or what?"

"I'm fine; I'm just waiting for my sister. She said that she was going to go look into a job and that she would be back soon. She's been gone for a few hours so she must have been hired."

She obviously trusted her sister to follow through with her promise, but the boy knew better. This girl had been left to fend for herself, he looked back behind him where a few of the other local newsies were standing and subtly nodded down to before gesturing to the lodging house. She would never survive on her own so they were going to take her in and teach her their ways.

"I'm sure, but why don't you wait inside its getting cold out here and we wouldn't want you to catch a cold. My names Jack Kelly but you can call me Cowboy, what's your name kid?"

"I'm Clara, and I guess it'd be okay if I went inside, but only until Anna shows up, then I'll have to go."

The newsies took Clara inside and introduced themselves to her. She quickly bonded with Racetrack seeing as he was only a year older than her, that night he shared his bed with her and the next morning he was the one who finally broke the news to her that her sister wasn't coming back. However Clara was a stubborn girl and it took a while for her to accept that she had been abandoned.

"Look Clara, I hate to say it but I don't think that your sisters coming back."

The boys were all waiting for her to break down sobbing but instead they were surprised when she immediately jumped to her sister's defense.

"You're wrong! She probably just didn't want to walk back here in the dark, she'll be back soon, you'll see!"

It took an entire day for them to convince her that she had been abandoned and when she finally realized she had been left to fend for herself she barely cried. It wasn't until that night when she thought that everyone was asleep to let her emotions loose, she made sure to muffle her sobs so that she didn't bother any of the boys but she couldn't control her quaking and soon Racetrack woke up to the entire bed shaking. He rolled over and instantly realized that Clara wasn't as untouched as she had first seemed.

"Hey now, no need to go crying ova somthin that's already done, tell ya what, why don't we give ya a newsie name, it'll be ta start of ya new life here."

Clara looked him in the eye to make sure he was being serious before nodding. When he asked her what she wanted to be called she just shrugged.

"Okay, since ya don't have no ideas how about Spice, cause you's has a sassy personality and ya 'air is so red."

She smiled through her tears and nodded again before hugging him and going to be. And so Clara Zappa the young innocent immigrant from Sicily died and Spice the fiery new newsie was born.

Hey so I just saw the Newsies for the first time and I fell in love with it. Tell me what you thought of the first chapter, I'm not good at writing in a New York accent so you'll have to forgive me. Other than that I would love feedback, thanks for reading.

**PLEASE REVIEW!**

-Ambercat999


	2. Chapter 2

Spice's first day selling newspapers wasn't nearly as hard as she expected, all she really had to do was make up a more creative title for the article already written. Racetrack had told her that if the headlines were bad then all they would do was "improve the truth" a little in order to compensate, that sounded a lot like lying to Spice and she didn't want to tell a lie, so instead she would come up with a different title for one of the articles. At first she sold with Cowboy because he was supposedly the best but after two weeks she switched to selling with Racetrack. They enjoyed each other's company and always had fun when they were together.

However after about a month Spice decided that she wanted to sell on her own. The boys had been hesitant at first to let her but she convinced them she knew her way around Manhattan, she was wrong. She started out fine, selling in places she had visited with Jack but eventually she found herself walking streets that she didn't recognize. She shrugged it off thinking that she would eventually run into someone she knew, again wrong. After two hours she came to a huge suspended bridge and before she knew it curiosity had gotten the better of her and she was crossing it. Once on the other side she became aware that she had made a big mistake. There were boys dressed as newsies but they could hardly be considered boys, most were teaming with muscle and wore scowls that could knock someone off their feet, and the worst part; their attention was all focused on her.

"Hey girly what're ya do'n here? we's never seen ya 'round before, you's new or somthin?"

"No, I'm Spice, I got lost and ended up here, I'm one of the Manhattan newsies. Who are you guys?"

"Who are we?" the boys started to laugh, "Sugar, we're the Brooklyn newsies and you's is way out 'o yar league."

Clara knew that she should be intimidated but at unfortunately for her the irrational side that had earned her her nickname kicked in before she could make a logical decision.

"My names not Sugar, its Spice!"

She realized about two seconds two late that she should have kept her mouth shut, the boy who she had been talking to looked about ready to knock her head off and she knew she would be no match for him if he tried. Just as he made to soak her a different voice cut in.

"Hey you bozo's what's ya do'in standing around for, you's should be selling papes."

"Sorry Spot, we just had to teach this brat her place then we's was gonna get straight back to work, honest!"

"I have a better plan how about you's get back to work and I'll deal with te goil, sound good?"

It was obvious that the boys still wanted to teach her a lesson for back sassing them but their fear of this, Spot person, seemed to trump any anger they might have been harboring. Spice let out a sigh of relief; she was glad that they were going away even if it meant she had to deal with the person who was in charge of them. When the last boy had finally walked away she was finally able to see the person who saved her. He had brown hair that was slightly shaggy in an attractive way, light blue eyes, and tan skin that he had obviously gotten from working out in the sun selling papes. He was smaller in size but the way he carried himself made up for it, he walked as if he owned the entire world.

"So goily what's ya do'in in Brooklyn? Doesn't seem like you's know where ya are."

His voice snapped her out of her pondering. She blushed realizing that he had probably caught her staring, he smirked and she knew he had noticed.

"I'm Spice, I'm a Manhattan newsie. I's just started and this was supposed to be my first day selling papes alone, I thought I knew my way around but I guess I was wrong. I'm sorry if I wasn't supposed to come here, honest I didn't realize!"

The panicked look on her face proved to Spot that she wasn't lying to him, there was no way that someone could fake that sort of innocence. In fact the child like way she acted sort of endeared her to him, she was so small and weak that he felt obligated to protect her from Brooklyn's harshness.

"Well's since you's didn't know better I's guess I's can let you's off this time. And don' worry you's is welcome here any time ya want, just make sure ta tell the boy's Spot said it was okay."

Spice nodded eagerly, she liked Spot he was nice and obviously he didn't mind that she had accidently encroached on his territory. She looked up at the sky and realized that they day had flown by without her knowledge and that there was no way she would be able to make it back to the lodging house before dark. Spot seemed to have the same idea because he turned to her right as she was about to start heading back.

"Hey, why's don't ya stay with us ta'night. It's not safe ta be alone afta dark specially for a goil."

She nodded relieved that she wouldn't have to risk the walk home and started to follow him back to his lodging when her stomach growled, she turned bright red. In all the excitement she had forgotten to eat and her stomach had finally decided to remind her of its existence, Spot laughed.

"Tell's ya what, why don't we stop and get you's some food and then we can turn in for the night, yeah?"

Spice again nodded too mortified to actually voice her agreement. And so that night she slept in the Brooklyn lodging house and the next morning Spot took her back to Manhattan, he even made sure that she had been returned to the frantic Racetrack and Cowboy before leaving. She had made sure to thank him and say goodbye, even giving him a hug for everything he had done for her.

Racetrack and Cowboy spent the entire day fussing over her and asking if the Brooklyn boys had done anything to her but she constantly reassured them that she was fine and they treated her well even stating that she and Spot were friends now and that he had said she could come sell with him anytime she wanted. The two didn't believe her but after a while finally let it be, they then scolded her for getting lost and made her promise not to try selling on her own until she was positive she knew her way around. She grudgingly agreed, embarrassed that she couldn't find her own way around but seeing the logic in their request.

It took another three months for her to learn all the ins and outs of Manhattan and another two after that to figure out Brooklyn's streets, as it turned out Spot was serious when he said she could sell with him anytime she wanted and they would usually meet up once or twice every few weeks to sell together. All in all life was good, she loved selling pape's with her friends and even though life was hard at times she had everything she could ever want. And so the years flew by and before she knew it she was a young adult of fifteen living life to its fullest and making the most of every day.

However she's about to take the ride of her life when she, Cowboy, and Racetrack meet a young man named Davey and his younger brother Les.

And so the second chapters up, I just wanted her to meet Spot before the strike so there it is. I don't know if the stories gonna be a Spot/OC or a Racetrack/OC yet I'm kind of waiting to see where the plot takes me. I would LOVE to know what you guys think of the character, even if its bad, please I welcome constructive criticism just no flames.

**PLEASE REVIEW I NEED FEEDBACK!**

Thanks for reading my story, you rock.

-Ambercat999


	3. Chapter 3

_In 1899, the streets of New York City echoed with the voices of newsies; peddling the newspapers of Joseph Pulitzer, William Randolph Hearst, and other giants of the newspaper world. On every corner you saw 'em carryin' the banner, bringin' you the news for a penny a pape. Poor orphans and runaways, the newsies were a ragged army without a leader. Until one day, all that changed._

Even after being a newsie for years Spice still found it impossible to get used to waking up early in order to carry the banner. And yet everyday she would wake up to the sound of snapping and Kloppmann waking each boy up individually, she had continued to share a bed with Racetrack even when they got to the age where it wasn't considered "appropriate" anymore. They were best friends and there weren't any extra beds in the lodging house so it just made sense that they would sleep together besides, it wasn't like they did anything indecent.

"Boots!" Kloppmann's voice startled Spice and she jumped slightly almost smacking Racetrack in the process. She heard Boots grumble something under his breath before Kloppmann's voice drowned him out.

"Skittery, Skittery, Skittery!"

"I didn't do it."

"What do you mean you didn't do it? Get up. When you get up, you have to get up!"

"Snitch. Get Up. C'mon everybody's sleepin'. They sleep, sleep. The sleep their life away, these kids. The ink is wet, the presses are rollin'.Sell a pape! Sell a pape!"

Kloppmann continued to make his rounds and so Spice rolled over and shook Race's shoulder gently, she figured he would rather her wake him up than the alternative. He began to stir just as Kloppmann reached Jacks bed.

"Hey, Cowboy. Hey, Cowboy, you dreamin' about sellin' papers? Hey, hey, hey."

Jack didn't seem to appreciate the wake up and being who he was he made sure to let the older man know.

"Don't wanna. What's the matter with you?"

"With me?"

"What's the matter with you?"

"What's the matter with _you_?"

"Get off my back, go way from me, you're made!"

Kloppmann couldn't help but laugh at how adamant Jack was to stay in bed. "Hey kid. Get up, boy. Come on, come on."

Once Jack finally started to get up their caretaker went back to making sure everyone was up and getting ready for the day.

"Carry your banner. Sell the papers! Everybody, what are ya doin'?"

While Jack and Kloppmann had been arguing Spice had slipped into the bathroom and gotten ready, she made sure that she was always the first into the bathroom in order to avoid the boys seeing anything they shouldn't and vice versa, she might have lived with them for years but that didn't mean she was okay with seeing them naked. She walked back to her and Race's bed just in time to see Racetrack frantically searching for something, then she noticed that Snipeshooter had a familiar cigar hanging from his mouth and realized what her friends dilemma was.

"What's my cigar."

"You'll steal anudder." Race wasn't having Snipe's sass and was about to teach the kid a lesson, luckily Blink stepped in before Spice had to.

"Hey, bummers we got work to do."

"Since when did you become me mudder." Of course Spec's had to add his opinion seeing as how anything that happened in the lodging house automatically became anyone and everyone's business whether they were directly involved or not. Spice started making the bed and couldn't help but smile at her boy's antics.

"Ah, stop your bawlin'."

"Who asked you?!"

Her smile got even bigger when she noticed that Mush was walking up to Jack, she loved how enthusiastic Mush was about life and instantly tuned into their conversation knowing it would be amusing.

"So, how'd you sleep, Jack?"

"On me back, Mush."

"Did you hear that, fellas." And there it was, no matter what tone was used if you said something Mush thought was funny he was gonna laugh about it, and share the joke with anyone within hearing distance.

"Hear that, fellas. Did ya hear what Jack said? I asked Jack how he slept and he said, "On me back, Mush."

Spice began to head for the stairs, seeing as how there wasn't much separating the bathroom from the bedroom. The boys didn't seem to care much about modesty and so she had to take it upon herself to make sure she didn't see any of them indecent. As she walked away she could hear Crutchy ask if Jack thought he looked like he was faking his limp and couldn't help but shake her head. It was sad that so many people were faking injury's now days that the real cripples were being called fakes.

Spice stood outside the lodging house and took a moment to revel in the fresh air and quiet streets, all too soon the streets would be filled with people and animals all bustling around from one place to another and the tranquility of the morning would be lost.

She heard the others before she saw them, their pounding feet and loud voices disrupted her peace and she gave a gentle sigh before joining them as they left their lodgings and headed for the distribution center. She didn't join in as the boys jumped over barrels and did flips off of a nearby cart; instead she walked beside them and nodded apologetically to the workers who had been disrupted. Sometimes she had trouble understanding how the boys could be so enthusiastic about selling papers each day but figured it had something to do with the fact that they took pride in the fact that they didn't have to rely on anyone but themselves because they had a paying job, even if it wasn't the best.

The made their usual stop at the nun's cart to get their breakfast, Race got a cup of coffee so Spice grabbed a role of bread, intending to share some of it with him in return for a sip of the bitter caffeinated drink. Through the crowd of ragged boys she could see a middle aged woman looking for her son, it wasn't that uncommon that they would see a distressed parent looking for their lost child amongst the ranks of newsies. Spice used to feel bad for them, until one day she realized that there was probably a reason the kid had left in the first place. From then on she had never once stopped to try and comfort the grieving parent like she once had, choosing instead to simply walk straight past without a second glance.

They finally got to the center Spices heart dropped at the headlines, the only things posted were the Trolley Strike and something about Governor Roosevelt, neither topic was interesting enough to catch someone's attention while they were busy trying to get to where they were going. Spice thanked the god's that she was good at making up stuff but she couldn't shake the worry for boys who weren't as creative; it was going to be a tuff day.

She had been so busy pondering what the day would bring that she hadn't been paying attention to the others, that was until she heard them singing about what they wished the headlines were instead.

"We need a good assassination; we need an earthquake or a war."

"How 'bout a crooked politician."

"Hey stupid that ain't news no more."

Snipeshooter decided to try his luck at coming up with something else interesting, however he failed, miserably. And the boys certainly let him know. Spice would have felt bad for the younger boy if it wasn't for the fact that he had a smile on his face, she had a feeling he had said what he had on purpose trying to rile the others up.

It was obvious that the boys were having a good time so even when they started to rough house a little Spice decided to let them be. Over the years she had become a sort of maternal figure to the bunch, making sure that they didn't do anything too stupid or get themselves hurt. At the same time though, she was right in the midst doing things that would be considered stupid or dangerous to anyone else. Unfortunately the Delancey brothers showed up and ruined the fun, and of course Race made it worse by antagonizing them.

"Dear me. What is that unpleasant aroma? I fear the sewer may have backed up during the night."

Pretty soon Boots and Crutchy had picked up on what Race was doing and decided to join in, even though Spice tried to keep them from doing so.

"Too rotten to be the sewer."

"Yeah, yeah, it must be the Delancey brudders."

Everyone started laughing at that point and Spice couldn't help but cringe, the brothers were prideful people and there was no way they would take the insult sitting down.

"Hiya boys." Race obviously didn't know when to quit. Spice scowled as Oscar grabbed Snipeshooter by the back of the neck, if he hurt a hair on that boys head; Spice was gonna give him a beating he would never forget.

"In the back, you lousy shrimp." Spice made a move to go help the boy but Jack beat her to it, walking past the brothers while Racetrack drew their attention away from the younger kid.

"That's not good to do that, not healthy." Spice grinned at her friend's wit.

"You shouldn't be callin' people lousy shrimps, Oscar; unless you're referring to the family resemblance in your brudder here."

Everyone oh'd at the remark impressed with the challenge that Jack had subtly issued.

"Five-to-one the cowboy skunks 'em, who's bettin'?" She shook her head, of course Racetrack wouldn't let an opportunity to bet go to waste. The other boys didn't seem interested though claiming that it was bum odds.

Seeing that the brothers hadn't openly reacted to Jacks taunt he decided to push a little more, determined to get a response of some sort.

"That's right, it's an insult, so is this." With that Jack nocked Morris's hat off his head before taking off into the crowd of boys. Spice moved to help her friend but Race held her back, not wanting his friend to get involved in a fight that could leave her injured. Luckily Jack didn't seem to need much help, tricking the brothers multiple times without much trouble. It probably helped that Jack had the entire newsie population helping him.

It wasn't until distribution bell rang that the fighting stopped, Jack opened the gates and Race dragged Spice along with him to the front of the line so that they could be first to get their papers. The two ended up right behind Jack and Race didn't waste any time parsing the other boy's show.

"Brilliant performance, Jackie, brilliant! Better than yesterday's."

"You're too kind to me"

Spice was about to say something but Oscar cut her off by pushing past her with his brother, almost knocking her off the platform in the process, she grabbed Race's arm to steady herself and he pulled her back from the ledge glaring at the Delancey's as he did.

"We'll play again tomorrow, Cowboy."

"That'd be nice." It seemed that no matter what Jack would have the last word. The brothers muttered threats at him but didn't make any move to carry out their threats. Jack knocked on the window that separated them from the papers employees and called out softly for the distribution head. When the man didn't answer right away he rang the bell, form inside they could hear the man as he walked towards the window, annoyance laced in his voice.

"Did ya miss me, Weasel? Did ya miss me?"

"I told ya a million times, the name is Weisel, Mr. Weisel to you. How man?"

"Don't rush me; I'm perusin' the merchandise, Mr. _Weasel_." Spice shook her head, everyone already knew how many papers Jack was going to get, he didn't actually care what the headlines were he just wanted to piss of the older man.

Jack slammed down his money on the counter with supposed purpose, "The usual," Spice shook her head again at the blatant arrogance in his tone. It seemed that Weisel hadn't missed his attitude either.

"One hundred papes to the wise guy, next." Race then walked up to the counter with Spice close behind.

"Morning, your honor. Listen do me a favor and spot me 50 papes, huh? I got a hot tip on the fourth. You won't waste your money."

"It's a sure thing?" Of all people Weisel seemed to have as much a thing for betting as Racetrack did, something the boy used often to get free papers.

"Oh yeah, not like last time." It struck Spice as funny how no matter how many times Race had a bad tip, the man never stopped believing him.

"50 papes, Next!"

Spice stepped up and politely asked for 50 papers as well setting down the money gently and waiting for the brothers to hand them over to her. The boys constantly hounded her on why she was so nice to the Weisel when he was a hard ass to them and she would always respond in the same way. One gets more with honey than with vinegar; by being nice to the man and his nephews she insured that they would never try to short her on papers.

She sat down next to Race as Crutchy walked up to order and read over his shoulder as he looked over the latest issue.

"Anything good this mornin'?" Spice waited to hear Jacks response but soon noticed that he was distracted by the small boy standing next to him.

"You wanna sit down?" For all Jacks bravo he had a soft spot for the younger kids, something Spice found rather endearing. The kid sat down and the boys resumed looking over their papers.

"Look at this: "Baby Born With Two Heads." Must be from Brooklyn."

Spice smacked Race's arm, she knew that the boroughs liked to poke fun at each other but she always insisted that they not do so around her. She thought as both groups as her family and she hated when they made fun of each other. Behind her she could hear arguing, she looked back to see a new kid around Jack's age arguing with Weisel. He didn't seem to understand that he was fighting a losing battle and Spice almost painfully obvious that he was new to the newsie life and without anyone to help guide him she knew he wouldn't last long. Luckily Jack, ever the mischief maker, recognized the opportunity to make fun of one of the Delancey's and took it; inadvertently helping the new kid in the process.

"No, it's 19, Weasel. But don't worry about it, it's an honest mistake. I mean, Morris, he can't count to 20 with his shoes on."

Weisel didn't seem to find Jack's joke amusing, neither did Morris. The boy looked like he would have jumped Jack if there weren't bar's separating them, however Jack wasn't quite finished.

"Race, will you spot me two bits?" She watched as her friend flipped the other boy the two coins.

"Thanks, another 50 for my friend here."

"I don't want another 50."

"Sure you do, every newsie wants more papes."

"I don't, I don't want your papes. I don't take charity from anybody, I don't even know you, I don't care to. So, here are your papes."

Spice leaned over and rested her head on Race's shoulder and tuned their conversation out, she was tired and figured she could doze for a few minutes while the others were arguing before she and Race had to head out to sell. By now she knew her way around well enough that she didn't need a selling partner but found that she got lonely without a someone to talk to, besides Race never complained about her company so she never saw any reason to stop.

All too soon Jack and the other boy, apparently a boy named David, had come to an arrangement. Race stood up after gently shoving her off his shoulder and they moved out with the others immediately starting to yell whatever seemed like it would get the public's attention. She walked behind Race as they headed towards Sheepshead Bay and basked in the summer heat. To her it would be just another uneventful week for her and her friends, oh how wrong she was.

Thrid chapter up, still no reviews. I'm not trying to complain but I would really appreciate if someone would tell me what they think of the story so far. I can't tell if I'm doing a good job or if the main character is a Mary Sue… Help!

**PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW!**

Thanks for reading, you are fantastic.  
-Ambercat999


	4. Chapter 4

It was just another day at the races for Racetrack and Spice, they had headed out to their usual selling spot just after Cowboy and David made their deal and were now fighting their way through the crowds hawking headlines as they went.

Spice cringed as yet another person elbowed her in the side as they attempted to see how the current race was going, she never quite understood why Race seemed to love this place so much. To her it was just an obnoxiously loud place where people went to waste their money; it smelled of sweat and horses and always made her feel grimy afterwards. Truthfully she hated it at the races and only ever went because it was Racetracks favorite place in New York City, its only redeeming factor was that the horses were beautiful. Sometimes she would sneak into the stables after she was done selling and just stare at the majestic creatures, they were so large and powerful yet they managed to be more graceful than she could ever hope to be.

Spice sold her last paper at around eleven and was about to head off to find Race when she felt an arm wind around her waist, she looked back expecting to see Races smiling face, it wasn't her friend. Behind her stood a rather scruffy looking man who appeared to be in his early twenties, he had yellow rotting teeth, greasy hair, and his clothes were rumpled as if he had been wearing them for days.

"Hey sugar, why don't you come with me and we can have a little fun." His voice was just as sleazy as the rest of him and it took Spice everything she had not to gag, he was one of the most disgusting people she had ever been around.

"My names not Sugar, and thanks but no thanks." She started to worm her way out of his grasp but he simply tightened his hold pulling her into his chest.

"Aw come on sweetheart, I promise I'll show you a good time."

Spice started to panic, she knew what came next and there was no way she wanted to end up like all of the other rape victims that she had read about in the newspapers. Just as she was about to start yelling for help she heard a familiar voice from somewhere behind her.

"I's don't think the lady wants ta go with ya, so why don't ya let 'er go and we's won't have no trouble, yeah?"

She let out an audible sigh as the scum bucket let her go and she was free to run into Race's arms, she had probably never been so grateful that her best friend was a rough and tumble newsie. When she was younger she had often been teased for having mainly male friends and it had made her extremely insecure, looking back she realized that the other girls had simply been jealous. Now that she was older she knew that their taunting had been petty and that she had had nothing to be embarrassed about, in fact, she was proud of who she was friends with; they made sure that she was safe and taken care of, which was more than she could say about the other girls "friends".

"Are you okay Spice, I's is sorry I left ya all alone. I went to go check on ta race and when I's looked back you's were gone. I tried ta find ya as quick as I could I swear!"

Spice didn't respond verbally, nodding instead. She didn't trust her voice not to betray just how frightened she had actually been, so to avoid further questions she buried her face into Race's chest and clung to him for dear life instead. He seemed to understand that she didn't want to talk about it so he wrapped his arm around his her shoulders and led her to the front of the crowd where they could see the races perfectly.

They stopped by Tibbys for a late lunch before spending the rest of their afternoon walking around Manhattan, to make up for what happened at the track's Race took her to the park where they played card games in the shade of the trees until night fell. When it got too dark for them to see their cards they simply laid back in the grass and stared up at the stars, before Spice knew it she found herself drifting off to sleep; She rolled over and rested her head on Race's shoulder quickly falling into a deep sleep.

Race looked down at her and smiled at his sleeping friend, she always seemed so young when she was asleep, her expression innocent and free of worry. He didn't let on but the incident that had occurred earlier that day had deeply shaken him, he had never thought of the races as a dangerous place for Spice to be but today had been a harsh wakeup call. She was growing up and it would seem that men were starting to take notice, part of him wanted to tell her that she wasn't allowed to come with him to Sheep's Head anymore but knew that she would never agree to it; even if he tried to keep her away she would find a way to follow him.

The two of them laid there under the stars for about an hour and they probably would have spent the entire night there if it weren't for the rain. Race looked up as he felt the first few drops hit his face before looking down at Spice, the rain didn't seem to bother his companion and he was sore pressed to just ignore it. Unfortunately the weather seemed to have other plans, as more and more drops started to fall Race realized that if the two of them didn't leave the park soon they would get soaked to the bone and run the risk of getting sick; and being sick was like a death sentence for newsies, seeing as how it meant they couldn't sell papers.

Race leaned over and shook Spices shoulder getting up as soon as she moved her head. He held out his hand and hauled her up before leading her out of the park quickly; they ran for a while before stopping under one of the overhangs of a nearby shop and it quickly became apparent to Racetrack that his friend wasn't going to make it all the way home. Spice's eyes were drooping and her posture was slumped, he rolled his eyes with an exasperated sigh before stepping in front of her and hunching down.

"Hop on Spice, if ya expect to get back to the lodging house before the end of the week we're gonna need ta pick the pace."

While Spice usually would have pitched a fit about being able to walk herself she found that she was just too tired to care, the excitement of the days previous events had left her exhausted and she wanted nothing more than to climb into her nice warm bed and sleep. So she climbed onto his back without a single complaint and within minutes was fast asleep. They reached the lodging house at the same time Jack did and he nodded at Race as he walked up.

"Hey Race."

"Hey Jack."

"How was your day at the track?"

"Remember that hot tip I told you about? Nobody told the horse."

Jack laughed at Race's joke before looking down at Spice.

"Seems she wore herself out huh? Here let me take her your back must be killing you."

Race was about to protest, Spice was actually quite light, but Jack had already slipped her off his back and into his arms. He watched as the older boy carried her up the stairs before following. Truth be told, he had no idea if the horse he bet on had won or not; he had been so concerned about Spice that he had totally forgotten about it, and now he couldn't care less. To him the fact that he was able to get to Spice before something bad could happen to her was good enough for him.

The next day Spice, Race, and Jack walked up to the distribution center to find their friends in complete outrage.

"They jacked up the price. Did ya hear that, Jack? Ten cents a 100. It's bad enough we gotta eat what we don't sell. Now they jacked up the price! Can you believe that?" Kid Blink was fuming and Spice could practically see the steam coming from his ears.

"This'll bust me. I'm barely makin' a living right now."

"I'll be back sleepin' on the streets." Spice gasped as she looked at Boots before quickly making her was up to him and wrapping her arms around his shoulders.

"There is no way we would ever let that happen to you. I promise we'll figure this thing out, don't ya worry." Spice continued to comfort Boots and the other younger boys quietly while the others continued to debate what was happening.

"It don't make no sense, all the money Pulitzer's makin'. Why would he gouge us?" She smiled as Mush spoke up, his faith in the good in people warmed her heart.

"He's a tightwad, that's why." She sighed, of course Race would take the cynical point of view. She loved him dearly but sometimes she had trouble dealing with his negative outlook on life. Jack seemed to be the only one who wasn't worried about the whole mess, not that it surprised her. He seemed to think that he could control everything in Manhattan and she was afraid that he was about to get a rude wake up call.

"Pipe down, it's just a gag. So why the jack up, Weasel?"

"Why not? It's a nice day, why don't you ask Mr. Pulitzer?" Wiesel's sarcasm wasn't appreciated at all and Spice glared up at the man from where she sat next to Boots, she didn't know what had happened to the man to make him such a jackass but she figured that it was because his mother never loved him enough.

"They can't do this to me Jack." Spice wanted to get up and hug Blink but figured that he wouldn't appreciate being coddled in public.

"They can do whatever they want, it's their stinkin' paper." At this point Spice couldn't help herself, she stood up and walked over to Race, smacking him on the back of the head for being such a downer. Jack took her spot on the stairs and Boot's turned to him to add his two cents.

"It ain't fair. We got no rights at all." Apparently Race hadn't gotten the message when she had smacked him the first time because he insisted on opening his mouth again.

"C'mon, it's a rigged deck. They got all the marbles, okay?"

"Jack, we got no choice. Let's get our lousy papes while they still got some." Jack surprised everyone when he jumped up. Spice had been pushed to the back of the crowd by some of the more eager boys so she didn't catch everything they were saying but she caught that they were apparently going to go on strike like the trolley workers. At first she thought they were joking but as the boys started to clear out of the center she realized they were serious, she wormed her way back to the front and watched as Jack took David's words and turned them into a rousing speech that got every newsie excited to strike.

Pretty soon they were talking about gathering others and Jack started sending kids out to the other boroughs, apparently they were going to be "ambasstards" for Manhattan. Kid Blink took Harlem, Race took Midtown, Mush took the Bronx, Crutch the Bronx, Bumlets, Specs, and Skittery took Queens, Pie Eater, and Snotty got East Side and Jack sent Snipeshooter with them so that he could be a part of the action. When it finally got to Brooklyn though no one wanted to go, apparently Spot made them nervous.

Spice sighed stepping up, "I've got Brooklyn Jack, don't worry." The others looked at her in awe. They knew that she supposedly sent to sell with Spot every once and a while but they never actually guessed that the rumors were true. Jack agreed to let her go but decided that he, Boots, and David would tag along as well. She nodded somewhat exasperated that they didn't trust her on her own before setting off. She heard David stop Jack and tell him he had to take their demands to Pulitzer but she didn't stop walking, she wanted to go see Spot already, they would catch up eventually.

As it turned out they didn't catch up and soon she found herself walking across the Brooklyn Bridge and down to the docks where Spot and his boys liked to hang out. She smiled as she walked by a few boys she recognized from previous visits, they tipped their hats to her but didn't pay her much attention other that. As she came to the pile of crates that Spot used as a throne she felt her smile getting wider, it had been a while since she had been to Brooklyn and she had missed her friend.

"Hey Spot did ya miss me?"

Spot looked down and let a rare smile slide across his face at the sight of his old friend, she was probably one of the only people who could act however she wanted around him and not get in trouble; he motioned her up before moving over so that she could sit on the crates with him. They talked a little about what had been going on and Spice told him about what had happened at Sheep's Head the previous day. He had been furious and made her promise that she would never wander around without someone there to protect her, she was just about to argue when Jack and the others walked up.

"Well, if it ain't Jack be Nimble, Jack be Quick."

"So you moved up in the world Spot, got a river view and everything." The two boys stared each other down and for a second Spice was worried that they were going to have a fight, however it would seem they were just messing around and soon they both spat in their hands and shook just like old friends. She decided that she would stay perched where she was and just watch what was about to transpire. She and Spot had already talked and he had agreed to let her spend the night in Brooklyn so it wasn't like she had any reason to move anyways.

"Hey Boots, how's it rollin'?"

"Hey, I got a couple of real good shooters here." Spot took one of the marbles and fired it at a bottle that was sitting up on a ledge, of course he hit the bottle dead on and Spice smirked; he was obviously showing off.

"So, uh, Jackie boy, I've been hearin' things from little boidy's."

"Yeah?"

"Things from Harlem, Queens, all over. They're chirpn' in my ear, Jackie boy's newsies is playin' like they're goin' on strike."

"Yeah well we are."

"Well, we're not playin'. We are goin' on strike."

"Oh, yeah, yeah? What is this, some kind of walkin' mouth?"

"Yeah it's a mouth, a mouth with a brain. And if you got half of one, you'll listen to what he's got 'ta say."

Spot sat down and stared up at David expectantly and Spice was impressed when David didn't act intimidated.

"Well, we started the strike, but we can't do it alone. So we've been talkin' to other newsies all around the city."

"Yeah, so they told me. But what did they tell you?"

"They're waitin' to see what Spot Conlon does. You're the key. That Spot Conlon is the most respected and famous newsie in all of New York, and probably everywhere else, and if Spot Conlon joins the strike, then they'll join. And we'll be unstoppable. So you gotta join us because—well, you gotta."

"Well, you're right, Jack; brains. But I got brains too, and more than just half of one. How do I know you punks won't run the first time some goon comes at you with a club? How do I know you got what it takes to win?"

"Caus I'm tellin' you, Spot."

"That ain't good enough, Jackie boy, you gotta show me."

Spice watched as the boys walked away dejected before turning to Spot as he climbed back onto the crates next to her.

"You are gonna help them right? Because if you don't then they're gonna get themselves into a fight they wouldn't have a dream of winning."

"Don't worry your pretty little head, I'll step in before things get too out of hand."

Spice huffed but bumped her shoulder playfully into his, she trusted Spot, now she could only hope the others did too.

And there it is chapter 4 done. This is the most I've written in a while… I'm not sure if this is going to be a Spot/OC story or a Racetrack/OC story so leave a review or shoot me a PM to let me know who you think she should end up with.

**To Newsgirl015: Thanks for the review, I tried to give Spice some more lines, I was actually thinking the same thing as you haha. Thanks again for reviewing you rock!**

**To Guest: I'm glad you have enjoyed the story so far and I hope you liked this chapter just as much. Thanks a ton for reviewing I hope you continue to read and enjoy.**

**PEASE REVIEW! I AM DESPERATE FOR FEED BACK!**

Thanks to everyone who has read my story so far you rock.  
-Ambercat999


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